One Family Of Earthmates
by You-Can't-Catch-Me
Summary: -Rewrite- Sequel to "Viva La Arianna?". Things are changing in Trampoli, and Gunie and Arianna's family is no exception. But any troubles they are suffering will be considered petty compared to what lies in store for them.
1. Rage

When I was newly married, seeing two in the morning on the clock in the bedroom meant we could probably go at it for another few hours. Later on, it came to be getting back into bed after a case of morning sickness. Eventually, it meant deciding which one of us would get out of bed and lull a baby back to sleep. Looking back, any of those things would have been preferable to what was happening at thirty-six.

Sitting up, alone, waiting for him to come back from wherever the hell he was.

At first, it was pure worry, because I was completely in the dark about what he could be doing. He would come home, and I would just cry and tell him how happy I was just to see him alive. But "working late" was not an excuse for slurred speech and alcohol on one's breath.

My reason for staying up was worry, yes, but at the forefront of my mind was how I would let him know just how angry I was. What he had become...

I was just about to give up and turn off the light when the door suddenly opened. My eyes narrowed and I clenched my fists just at the sound of him coming home. While I wanted more than anything to jump out of bed, race to the front door, and scream at him, I didn't. I would wait there for him.

He was walking slowly, confirming my suspicions that he was at least somewhat intoxicated. And when he first entered the room, he didn't seem to notice me. He just set down his bags and started to undress. My mind wandered at that point; he still was gorgeous on the outside. I mentally slapped myself for being so shallow.

At that point, he turned around, and once he caught sight of me, he damn near fell over, cursing while he did so.

"You're awfully late again," I spat. "Do you have _any _idea of what time it is?"

"No," he admitted. It was obvious he was trying to keep his sentences short.

"What do you take me for?" I asked, getting out of bed. "I'm not stupid. I can tell you're drunk."

"I didn't drink a damn thing," he said. "I'm just...tired." I decided to test him.

I walked quickly up to him, and kissed him, tongue and all, before he could get a word out. After a bit, I pulled away from him.

"You're not mad?" he asked.

"I am mad," I replied. "Though I'm glad you're not a snob when it comes to drinking, because that whiskey is even cheaper than what I drank as a kid. I hope they didn't overcharge you." I started to walk away. "So who were you with _this _time? I know you've been working on Claws of Terrable's new record, but then again, the guys in Summon know all of the best places."

"Befriending the bands is part of my job," he said.

"Yeah,'befriending,'" I scoffed.

"Don't mock me," he growled. "I work all day long with people that I don't necessarily like so I can provide for our family, and I think I deserve an occasional break from the stress."

"A break from the stress?" I repeated, raising my voice. "Look, I understand that you work, but _some people _are going through unnecessary stress because of your outside-of-work ambitions!"

"Don't you think that's a little self-centered of you?" he asked.

"I'm not talking about me," I told him. "I'm talking about our _children, _Gunie." I looked away, my eyes suddenly tearing up. "What do you think it does to them?"

"I haven't noticed any changes," he replied.

"That's because you're _never around!_" I cried.

"You _know _why I'm never around, Arianna!" he shouted.

"Apparently because you're off drinking!" I shot back. "And now that I think about it, you've probably started drinking alone!"

"What does that even matter?" he asked.

"Why does it matter?" I shouted. "You...have...chronic..._depression! _You knowbetter than to screw around with the sadness!" The tears finally spilled out. "And...I don't want to lose you..." I tried to look him in the eyes, but he just averted them. "Look at me!" He still didn't acknowledge me.

"I can hear you out there," he said, looking over at the open door.

"What?" I asked.

However, my question was soon answered by shuffling footsteps in the hall, and my heart sank as I realized that he had been talking to our kids.

"We tried to be quiet," Caleb said, not looking at Gunie or me.

"How long have you been out there?" I asked, trying to hide the fact that I was crying.

"Not too long," Audrey replied. Her eyes looked as though they could set something on fire. "Around when you started having your little makeout session. Real classy, by the way." Normally, I would have told her to use a more respectful tone of voice, but I was embarrassed on many levels. That, and she was right.

"Why is all this happening?" Hayley whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "Daddy...do you really feel like we're stressful?" Gunie bit his lip, but didn't say anything. "What...could I do to change that? I don't want to make you unhappy!" And shy little Trae, standing right behind her as usual, was trembling so much that he obviously couldn't speak.

I heard Caleb mutter something about "splitting up," so I walked over to them and gave all of them a hug.

"Listen," I said. "All parents fight from time to time, and you know that. It's nothing to be worried about." Caleb and Audrey didn't look convinced, and even Hayley had some doubt in her expression. "It's really late. You all should go back to bed. We won't yell anymore, and we're _so _sorry." I looked at Gunie for some sign of agreement, but I didn't get any.

The four of them trudged back to their rooms, and I looked over at Gunie again, tears in my eyes.

"How could you not say a word to them?" I asked.

"I didn't know what to say," he replied. I shook my head, finally letting the tears out. "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning." He climbed into bed, and I didn't know what to do other than get in bed as well, facing away from him as I turned off the light.

**Yeah, I decided to repost the whole story, because apparently you can't review twice for the same chapter, even if it's a replacement.**

**So what do you think of the changes so far, or the story in general? Let me know~**


	2. Forgiveness?

I was surprised I was able to get any sleep that night, but it didn't last long, because a noise woke me up.

As I opened my eyes, I could see some movement next to me once my eyes had adjusted slightly. It took me a moment to register that it was Gunie.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He didn't respond at first.

"No..." he murmured, quietly at first. "No..._no! _You can't take them! You can't take them away!"

"Gunie," I said, touching his arm. The terror in his voice was worrying, to say the least, and he was sweating, though his skin felt cold.

"Take me..." he gasped. "Take me instead! _Kill me!_"

"Honey, wake up!" I finally said, shaking him.

With that, he did wake up, crying out as he did so. For a moment, he didn't say anything, but then, he rolled over and looked at me. And even in the darkness, I could see that his face was wet, and tears were streaming from his eyes.

"You're...here," he said, his breathing shallow. "Y-You're safe..."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Once again, he was quiet, other than the occasional sniffle and sharp breaths. Whatever he had been dreaming must have been horrible. "What happened?"

"Doesn't matter..." he replied. "It...it wasn't real. Even though it felt like it was...God, I was so scared...for you..."

Even though we had been yelling at each other just hours before, something about him at that moment seemed so helpless...so vulnerable.

"Gunie," I coaxed, bringing him slowly into a hug.

"It's strange," he said. "I was about to lay down my life for you in some dream...but in real life...I've been hurting you. I've been hurting our children. And...I'm sorry." I started to stroke his hair.

"I know you are," I said.

"But I have to change," he said. "I have to stop this. There's already so much wrong with me...this nightmare is proof of that."

I kissed him softly on the lips, and hugged him again.

"I know you can stop," I said. "You've overcome challenges much more difficult than this. Your left arm is clean again. The only physical scar on your body wasn't even due to something you did, and you overcame that. You're alive. But you've still been scarred on the inside...and that's what makes things difficult even now. And that's when you just have to think about all of the people in this world who love you. Five of them live in this house. And we'll always be there for you."

Once again, the room was silent.

"I don't know if I ever told you this," he said softly. "But...you know how I wasn't allowed to walk on my own for all that time after I was stabbed?"

"Yes," I replied. I had always sort of hated just talking about that time. He had gone through so much pain, and I wasn't there for him.

"Well," he said. "The final stage of that time was when I was on crutches. And after that, I was allowed to walk. That first day on my feet...was the day you came back." He sighed heavily. "And all the time I had protested to doing my leg stretches so that my muscles didn't atrophy, all the time I refused to eat to help me regain my strength...it was because I had driven you away. Because I told you I hated you. And yet, all the time before that, I had relied on you so much. I hurt you, even though you were always there for me." He hugged me. "I won't let that happen again." I hugged him back, and kissed him.

"I know you won't," I replied.

After a while, we went to sleep, and before I knew it, the sun was coming through the windows and waking me up. It was pleasant at first, but then I realized that it was ten in the morning, meaning that I had slept through all of the before-school preparations for the kids.

"Shit!" I muttered, nearly jumping out of bed. Even though Trae was an early riser and could probably get the others up, and Audrey could cook well enough to make something decent for breakfast, I still felt horrible.

But then, I realized that someone was in the bed next to where I had been.

"Not so loud..." Gunie whimpered, putting his arm over his eyes. "I got them to school..." I was astonished.

"What do you mean?" I asked, making sure to whisper.

"I...wanted to let you sleep," he said. "As an apology..." I bit my lip.

"Hangover or migraine?" I asked softly.

"B-Both," he replied, his mouth quivering as he spoke.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked, stroking his hair.

"No..." he said. "Just...need sleep."

I quietly got dressed, and decided to get out of the house while the kids were at school, though I wasn't quite sure of where to go. I hadn't been out in a while, even though I had friends all over town. So when I left the house, I just started walking down the road that led to town.

It was only Spring, but for some reason, everything around town seemed to be dying. The leaves on the trees were falling, and the amount of Runeys in the air seemed to be decreasing. I noticed as I passed by it that even the crops on my in-laws' farm looked weaker than usual. And everything was much too quiet.

But the quiet was suddenly interrupted when I heard a frustrated-sounding shout coming from inside the house, and the front door flew open to reveal my mother-in-law with tears in her eyes.

"Leona, what's wrong?" I asked. She looked not only sad, but angry, and I wasn't used to seeing her that way. She jumped once she heard me speak.

"Arianna!" she cried, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Gunie has a headache," I replied, leaving out the part about our fight last night. "Are you okay?" She bit her lip and looked down as tears started flowing from her eyes again.

"It's nothing," she said. "All couples fight from time to time, and Leif and I are no different."

My expression of concern changed to one of sadness, and before I could control it, I was crying too.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" she cried, giving me a hug. "Is everything okay?"

"N-No," I admitted. "I mean, it is n-now...with m-me and Gunie, but I...I don't know if it _will _be."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

As much as I did want to talk about it, I didn't want to tell her what had been going on with her only son. It would break her heart, especially when she was already upset from a fight with her own husband.

"No," I said finally. "I'm fine..." But nothing seemed fine at that moment, and everything in the future seemed as dreary as the crops dying in the field just in front of us.

* * *

><p><strong>This last part definitely confirms that I've been revisiting my childhood and reading Lemony Snicket to my brother a lot lately.<strong>

**Also, I wanted to clear something up: I forgot to mention that Trae is simply the nickname for Gunie and Arianna's fourth child, Raguna III. It's just a different spelling of Tre or Trey, meaning "third".**

**On that note, if you don't have an account but you have a question, please leave an email address so I can answer it for you. It makes me feel bad to have to wait until I update next (which can vary in the amount of time it takes) to answer them.**


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